Game Design Challenge: Attitude Adjustment

[12.04.18]- Danny Cowan

GameCareerGuide.com's Game Design Challenge is an exercise in becoming a game developer, asking you to look at games in a new way -- from the perspective of a game creator, producer, marketer, businessperson, and so forth.

Every month, we'll present you with a challenge about developing video games. You'll have two weeks to brainstorm a brilliant solution (see below for how to submit your answers). After the two week submission period elapses, the best answers and the names of those who submitted them will be posted.

The Challenge

Design a game with mood-based gameplay mechanics.

Assignment Details

Our emotional well-being affects everything around us, from our ability to work to the way we treat others. A few games have explored the ways in which mood swings can impact gameplay, with Nintendo's Super Princess Peach and Namco's Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures drastically shifting their mechanics and objectives based on their main characters' emotional states.

For Game Career Guide's latest Game Design Challenge, your job is to design a game with mechanics that focus on the main character's mood.

Feel free to explore any gameplay genre you wish in your entry. Some sample ideas include a mobile clicker game where players click on different toys to keep a baby from having a tantrum, a turn-based strategy game where your battalion's mood affects its ability to follow orders, or a beat-em-up where improving the starring character's mood can strengthen their moves. Be creative, and have fun!

To Submit

Work on your ideas, figure out your strategy for coming up with a solution, and ask questions on the forums. When your submission is complete, send it to [email protected] with the subject line "Game Design Challenge: Attitude Adjustment." Please type your answer directly in the email body -- do not submit .pdf or Word documents.

Submissions should be no more than 500 words and may contain up to three images. Be sure to include your full name and school affiliation or job title.

Entries must be submitted by Wednesday, December 19.

Results will be posted Tuesday, December 25.

Disclaimer: GameCareerGuide.com is not responsible for similarities between the content submitted to the Game Design Challenge and any existing or future products or intellectual property.